


Little Drummer Boy

by cabbages



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 16:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2435894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabbages/pseuds/cabbages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Achievement City is about to be graced with an heir to the throne. The Mad King Ryan's son is to be born in a matter of days, and he demands gifts from all across the kingdom. Unfortunately, Geoff's region of Achievement City is too poor to send the king any lavish gifts.</p>
<p>So they send the little drummer boy instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Drummer Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Had this sitting around for a while, finally decided to post the first chapter instead of publish the whole thing at once. 
> 
> Enjoy~

It was going to happen any day now.

The kingdom was buzzing with gossip. Newsstands overflowed with articles and flyers about the upcoming event. The overseers of the different regions of the kingdom were on edge, practically falling out of their seats, waiting for the news. People everywhere, even prisoners, were hoping it happened soon.

 The Mad King’s son was to be born in a matter of days. It was a cause for celebration across the entire world, with gifts and good wishes pouring in from kings and queens from far off lands. A banquet to welcome the future king of Achievement City was to be held the night of his birth, with neighboring kingdoms invited to attend. It was shaping up to be a truly spectacular event…but there was one problem.

 Each region of Achievement City was to present the future king with a gift.

 This proved to be problematic for Geoff Ramsey, overseer of the poorest region of the kingdom who was appointed by none other than The Mad King himself. He had no money to spare on lavish gifts for the future king. He hardly had enough money to feed the homeless of his region, of which there were many. Geoff’s first priority was to the wellbeing of his region, not necessarily to The Mad King or his future heir.

 Though once the closest of friends and even a trusted advisor to the king, Geoff and the Mad King had become increasingly distant. It all started when Geoff and a few other appointees had called attention to the king’s increased hostility towards a neighboring kingdom during one of their annual council meetings. From there tension between the king and Geoff had increased, going so far as the king excluding Geoff from council meetings, until finally the king plunged Achievement City into a devastating war, and thus fallen out of Geoff’s good graces, forever damaging his most trusted ally’s loyalty.

After the Great Siege, the southeastern portion of Achievement City, including the region Geoff governed, was nearly obliterated. Hardly any buildings were left standing, the roads were beyond repair, and many of the farms were burnt and destroyed. Geoff’s region suffered the heaviest of the attacks, and the brief period of prosperity before the Great Siege was gone as soon as the walls were blown in by the enemy’s creepers and the soldiers started marching in.

 The outlying regions blamed The Mad King for their plight. The Great Siege, many said, was the result of the preceding War of Conquest, which had only begun to fulfill The Mad King’s bloodlust. His ambition, ruthlessness, and cruelty towards the enemy and even his own kingdom were what got him the name “The Mad King” in the first place. He truly was a madman.

 But of course, as tensions arose and the people of Achievement City began to see the error in the king’s ways, anyone talking ill of the king would be hanged in a public execution. All traitors or those suspected of treason were immediately incarcerated and killed without trial, their bodies displayed in the public square of Downtown Achievement City to be shown as an example of what happens when you defy the king. It was a way for the king to assert his power, to show that his word was one of absolute law and authority, and it worked.

 So now that The Mad King expected gifts for his son when he couldn’t even be bothered to help his citizens that were in need of basic survival items, Geoff was furious. It was the king’s job to look after his people, not start a war just because he felt like it. These treasonous thoughts were what ran through his head as he adjusted the collar of the best suit he had in preparation of the speech he was about to give. Gathered outside was the entirety of his region of Achievement City, waiting anxiously and fearfully to know who would represent them and bring the region’s gift to the future king.

 Geoff cleared his throat once, twice. He fiddled with his cuffs and scanned over the paper in his hands again, trying to focus on his speech, but finding that he couldn’t. A soft murmur pierced through the tattered red curtain he hid behind; the crowd just beyond it was buzzing worriedly. Some unfortunate family would be forced to send their loved one to Downtown Achievement City to face the king, bearing their region’s finest gift, and who’s to say they wouldn’t come back if the king wasn’t satisfied?

 Taking a deep breath, Geoff gripped his paper tight and began to walk towards the podium. His footsteps were like thunder on the weak and rotting wood of the stage, his heavy boots thudding against it as he walked with an air of authority and seriousness. The chatter immediately ceased amongst the crowd, and worried and fearful faces turned to gaze at their appointed leader, knowing and yet still fearing what he had to say.

 “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” he began. His voice rang out strong in the silence of the region square. “Thank you all for coming; this is a very pressing matter we must attend to.”

 Geoff shifted uncomfortably, his expression grim. “As you all know, the king’s son will be born any day now. We are to honor him by bringing forth our finest gifts. Of course, with our limited resources and less than adequate economic and living conditions, finding a valuable gift will be difficult, if not impossible. We also have to send a representative to present our gift, which is a selection the king’s council has already made. Normally this decision would be left to the regions, but this year is different.”

 The crowd began to whisper anxiously. Worried mothers held their children close at their sides, fearing one of them may be picked. Husbands feared for their wives and vice versa. But despite family relations coming first, everyone worried for each other, the strong bonds of a poor community being reinforced under such terrifying circumstances.

 Out at the edge of the crowd appeared two boys, one clad in a dirty brown shirt and faded yellow pants, with curly red hair sticking out from underneath a tattered brown hat with bear ears and a small blue backpack hanging off his shoulders, the other wearing a pale green shirt and dark green pants with a checkered green scarf wrapped around his neck. The two small boys jumped up and down to try to see above the adults in front of them, presumably to find their parents, but to no avail.

 Geoff paused, struggling to continue, desperately wishing he didn’t have to bear such agonizing news, but knowing that it must be done. He took a deep breath and looked down at the sheet of paper trembling slightly in his hands.

 “By the decree of the king’s council, this region of Achievement City is hereby ordered to send Michael Jones as a representative to His Majesty and his son the Future King.”

 A sharp cry cut through the silence and immediately the crowd began to buzz with shocked murmurs. All heads turned to a wailing woman in the middle of the group with her hands framing her grief-stricken face, her husband standing stunned and silent beside her, his mouth hanging open. He recovered after a few moments and grabbed his wife’s shoulders, pulling her close to his chest as she began to sob and crumble into despair. The husband turned toward Geoff, his face hurt and angry.

 Cut off from the heart of the commotion, the boy in brown looked up curiously when he heard his name being called. The boy, no older than seven, began to push through the barrier of people, recognizing his mother’s cry. He stumbled around in a state of confusion, the boy in green struggling to keep up behind.

 “Michael! Wait Michael!” the boy in green called as he saw his friend disappear into the crowd.

 “Mom?” Michael called, his voice frantic. Recognizing the boy, the crowd parted, and Michael ran towards his mother as she squatted down and caught him in a tight embrace. “Mom, what’s wrong? Why are they calling my name? Did I do something wrong?”

 His mother erupted into another wave of tears. His father looked at him sadly, trying to maintain a calm composure. “Everything’s fine, sport,” he said with a smile that he could feel was twitching. “You’re okay, promise.”

 Geoff gripped the sides of the podium tight until is knuckles were white. Damn the king, he thought, and damn the council for causing such distress and agony on this poor family. “Would Michael Jones and his family please join me offstage? To everyone else, this town meeting is adjourned.”

 The crowd reluctantly began to disperse, and gradually the once loud chatter faded into silence as the town square was abandoned. The boy in green finally caught up to Michael, only to be pulled away by his mother and forcibly dragged back home. He fought her grip and turned to look back at his friend, but ultimately he was led away.

 The Jones family walked slowly over to the red curtains where Geoff was waiting. The overseer held out an arm and patted the father’s shoulder as he walked past, leading them to a corner of the backstage where they could sit down and talk.

 As soon as they were settled, the mother lashed out violently. “Damn you to hell!” she shrieked. “Damn the king and damn you! I hope you both rot in the pit where you belong!”

 Geoff blanched and quickly motioned for the frantic mother to hush; he was lucky there were no soldiers nearby, otherwise they’d all be dead. “Mrs. Jones, this is not of my doing. I had no say in this matter. I’m truly sorry.”

 “There’s got to be some sort of mistake,” the mother pleaded. “You have to fix this!”

 Geoff shook his head. “I am truly sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. There is nothing I can do. The king’s word is final.”

 Mr. Jones ran a hand down his face. “What can we do? We have no gift to bring that’s fit to give a king. We don’t have any money for something extravagant.” Michael clung to his free arm, peering out from behind his back warily. He was completely silent, so silent that Geoff almost forgot he was in the room.

 “You’ll have to think of something. I’m truly sorry,”

 “If you were then you’d help us,” Mrs. Jones snapped. She looked up, sniffling, and glared at Geoff.

 He sighed. “The king’s son will be born any day now. Expect Michael to be leaving as soon as tomorrow or even tonight.”

 Mr. Jones sighed worriedly. Holding Michael and his wife close, he put his head in one hand. “What are we going to do?”

 Michael looked up at Geoff with innocence and naïveté, having not the slightest clue what was happening, and with that one look Geoff knew they were all screwed.


End file.
